TWICE News

• TWICE/Campaigners Survey: Erudite Associates Still Sales MVPs
  
  By Colleen Bohen, February 6, 2007
  El Segundo, Calif. — Despite all of the hype about enhancing the modern consumer’s retailing experience with live/interactive demos and other secondary products or services, it appears that the consumer still considers basic customer service and product availability as the biggest contributors to a successful technology shopping trip.
  
• Kodak Unveils First All-in-Ones With New Business Model
  
  by Greg Scoblete, February 6, 2007
  Rochester, N.Y. — Seeking to overturn the prevailing razor/razor blade model of photo printers and ink cartridges, Kodak announced today new all-in-ones which it will sell alongside inexpensive ink cartridges exclusively through Best Buy.
  
• Haier America Names Warren Mann Sales VP
  
  By Doug Olenick, February 5, 2007
  New York – Industry veteran Warren Mann was tapped by Haier America to lead its independent dealer channel as sales VP.
  
• eMachines Ships Q1 Desktop Line
  
  By Doug Olenick, February 5, 2007
  Irvine, Calif. – Gateway introduced its first quarter eMachines desktop computer line up, all of which feature Microsoft Windows Vista.
  
• HD Radio Awareness Up, But Survey Says Interest Low
  
  By Joseph Palenchar, February 5, 2007
  Glendale, Calif. – Consumer awareness of HD Radio is up, but awareness of the benefits if digital AM/FM has dipped, and only a small percentage of consumers are interested in buying HD Radio, according to a consumer survey conducted by a radio ratings and research company.
  
• Hitachi Reports Higher Q3 Sales, Wider Loss
  
  By Steve Smith, February 5, 2007
  Tokyo – Hitachi reported a 77 percent drop in net income to $11 million while revenues rose 10 percent to $20.9 billion for its fiscal third quarter that ended Dec. 31.
  
• TV Retails Tumble In Final Week Of Super Bowl Promos
  
  by Alan Wolf, February 2, 2007
  New York — CE chains finally pulled the trigger on TV price promotions in the last few days before the Super Bowl in a final push to clear out old inventory.
  
• Taxes Cut Amazon’s Q4 Earnings 50%
  
  By Alan Wolf, February 2, 2007
  Seattle, Wash. — Amazon.com’s net profit fell 50 percent to $98 million for the fourth quarter, ended Dec. 31.
  
• CEA Attempts To Bolster PARA Confidence
  
  By Colleen Bohen, February 2, 2007
  Arlington, Va. — The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is holding its PARA Retailer Conference March 7-9, at the Peabody Hotel in Orlando, Fla.
  
• Dolby Labs Income, Revenue Jump
  
  By Doug Olenick, February 2, 2007
  San Francisco — Dolby Laboratories reported a gain in revenue a net income for its first fiscal quarter of 2007, ended Dec. 29.
  
• Whirlpool Recalls 2.3 Million Maytag Dishwashers
  
  by Alan Wolf, February 2, 2007
  Benton Harbor, Mich. — Whirlpool, in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), is voluntarily recalling 2.3 million Maytag and Jenn-Air dishwashers due to a possible fire hazard.
  
• Acquistions Of Hoover, Warrantech Completed
  
  By Alan Wolf, February 1, 2007
  Benton Harbor, Mich. — Hoover and Warrantech each have new owners following separate transactions that closed today.
  
• No Change In Top Camera Brands
  
  By Greg Scoblete, February 1, 2007
  Santa Clara, Calif. — Research firms IDC and NPD released their 2006 market share figures for the digital camera industry today, indicating that yet again Kodak, Canon and Sony remain the market’s top players — though their relative positions have shifted.
  
• Zink Previews ‘Inkless Printing’
  
  By Greg Scoblete, February 1, 2007
  Palm Deser, Calif. — Zink Imaging introduced an “ink-free” digital photo printing technology at the Demo Show, here, this week.
  
• Matsushita Reports Record Q3 Sales
  
  by John Laposky, February 1, 2007
  Osaka, Japan — Matsushita Electric Industrial reported a 5 percent rise in quarterly profit, citing robust sales of its Panasonic brand flat-panel TVs, digital cameras and air conditioners.
  
• 8x8 Posts Revenue Gains, Raises Rates
  
  By Greg Scoblete, February 1, 2007
  Santa Clara, Calif. — VoIP provider 8x8 increased its earnings by 56 percent in its fiscal third quarter vs. the year-ago period, the company announced today.
  
• Kingston Intros Performance-Enhancing USB Drives
  
  By Greg Scoblete, February 1, 2007
  Fountain Valley, Calif. — While it won’t help you break Barry Bonds’ home run record, flash-memory supplier Kingston’s new DataTraveler USB flash drive can double as a memory source for PCs running Windows Vista to improve performance.
  
• RadioShack Debuts Free Ship-To-Store Service
  
  By Colleen Bohen, February 1, 2007
  Fort Worth, Texas — RadioShack has unveiled a new e-commerce initiative that provides free shipping for orders from its Web site, www.RadioShack.com, to a customer’s local brick-and-mortar RadioShack location
  
• Casio Debuts New Widescreen Digicams
  
  By TWICE Staff, February 1, 2007
  Dover, N.J. — Casio debuted a pair of Z-series Exilim digital cameras yesterday featuring a new wide-angle LCD.
  
• Rollins Out As Dell Steps In As CEO
  
  By Doug Olenick, January 31, 2007
  Round Rock, Texas - In a late day move on Wednesday, Michael Dell reclaimed his role as CEO of the company he founded in 1984 from Kevin Rollins who resigned from the company’s board of directors effective immediately.